Mal.

Sixteen. Junior Year.

"Are you feeling kind of weird about this?" Jay mused as he dropped back against the lockers next to Mal's between classes. He rolled his head towards her lazily, but his eyes were guarded, waiting for the bad reaction. "I mean, it's not so bad here, you know?"

"Are you insane?" Mal froze, her head snapping to Jay's as her eyes narrowed in irritation. "Long live evil! You're mean! You're awf-"

"Hear me out," Jay cut her off, glancing towards the group of girls edging towards them from the quad. He smiled and waved, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "What happens when our parents get out, huh? It's not like we get a kingdom to rule over or a pass to live our own lives."

Mal frowned, her eyes softening. She looked to the ground with a shrug, but didn't sound entirely convincing as she replied, "You heard my Mom. World domination. Hers and hers crowns. Pain and suffering."

"And how much of that will actually be our pain and suffering?" Jay countered, sounding bitter. He banged his head back against the lockers. The dull thud didn't echo like it would have on the Isle, and it was disconcerting. "I mean, this is the first time we haven't had to worry about Cruella killing Carlos when we weren't around. And I see you and Beast Junior making eyes at each other. What do you think will happen to him if they get out."

It wasn't a question. They both knew the answer.

"I'm not making eyes at anyone," Mal protested, too quickly she knew. She wasn't blind - she knew she'd caught Prince Ben's eye. And yeah, maybe she was playing on it. A flirtation with Auradon's Crown Prince could be useful. You never know when you might need a personal tour of the royal vaults.

"Whatever," Jay muttered, teasing her the same way he used to whenever she found an excuse to sneak off to meet Harry Hook. Mal rolled her eyes in response. "Look, I'm just saying…"

"I know." Mal sighed, then she heard Ben, Audrey and Chad come around the corner. She glanced over and quickly reached into her locker, grabbing the spiked cookie. Jay merely stared at her evenly, waiting for her to justify continuing.

Mal bit her lip uncertainly, eyeing the bag in her hand.

Back on the Isle, if Jay pulled apart her plan, it was never a good one to begin with.

Jay was their pointman - first in the door, first to throw a punch, always the last one out. He didn't usually get involved in the logistics or planning. But when he said something...they knew they were better off listening to it.

Jay's moral compass could never claim to point due north. But if he said something was too wrong…

Surely that meant she was on the right track. That she was becoming the kind of evil that would make her mother proud.

She should be happy about that development.

Mal watched as Ben exchanged some tense words with Audrey and Chad. Mal heard the harsh words as if they'd been spoken right next to her. Her senses had always been stronger than the others, but she didn't know if it was the fairy or the demigod in her.

The jibes from Audrey didn't even hurt. If anything, the insults were a language she understood. Scathing comments that expertly concealed a million insecurities.

She and Audrey were more alike than the other girl would like to think.

Mal watched from behind her locker door as Ben sighed heavily after his friends stalked off, banging the back of his head back against the lockers. He looked weary. Exhausted.

Mal waited for the tug at the nape of her neck that would have her in tune with his feelings. She hadn't worked out how to turn these damn powers off yet - after sixteen years on the Isle she'd managed to tune out most of the background noise, only tapping into it when she needed those extra senses for a tactical advantage.

But here in Auradon, it was so bright, so busy. There were so many people and so many new feelings.

She'd have to work out how to tune it out soon, before the eternal optimism and juvenile angst had her jumping off the tallest tower she could find just so she could get some quiet. Because she sure as hell wasn't calling her dad after only a few weeks off the Isle to tell him her head hurt.

She was a Hades. She should know how to do this.

After a moment, Mal frowned. The tug didn't come, which was odd. That had never happened before.

Yet she could still tell Ben was feeling the weight of a phantom crown. Even if it was only because she knew the same weight.

Twice over, actually.

The weight of her mother's evil expectations. And her father's empire would always be there, under the surface.

All souls found their way to Hades. And no demigod could ignore the call of Olympus forever.

Before Mal could dwell on it much longer, Ben shook himself out of his moment of weakness and spotted them. His face broke into a grin that made Mal's stomach flip, and he pushed off the lockers, heading towards them.

Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in panic. She looked at Jay, who was absolutely no help. He just stood there, arms folded, judging her silently.

Urgh. Fine.

Huffing, she launched the cookies into the back of her locker with a growl. Jay smirked, and she slammed the door closed before she could change her mind.

Spinning towards their approaching guest, she imitated Audrey's trill, "Hey, Bennyboo!"